Firefighters have been combating a massive wildfire that ravaged a nature reserve in eastern Belgium and another on a Greek island near Athens, resulting in two fatalities on Sunday due to the hot and dry conditions that have fueled fires across several parts of Europe.
The wildfire in eastern Belgium has consumed approximately 30 square kilometers in the High Fens, a significant nature reserve, marking one of the country’s most severe wildfires in recent memory. Around 600 residents in the neighboring municipalities of Waimes and Bütgenbach, near the German border in Liège province, were instructed to evacuate on Saturday as winds changed direction, causing smoke to spread through the area. Authorities also recommended that tourists vacate the vicinity, with a nearby gymnasium being opened to accommodate evacuees.
Hervé Jamar, the provincial governor of Liège, stated on Sunday that more than 250 emergency responders have been dispatched, including over 100 Belgian and German firefighters, in addition to police, military personnel, and civil protection teams. Belgium’s federal police and helicopters from the Netherlands have also been conducting firefighting operations.
In Greece, the coast guard reported that an elderly couple lost their lives outside their residence on the island of Salamina, located west of Athens, close to where the fire originated. Over 500 individuals have been rescued from the island. The fire erupted during Greece’s peak summer holiday weekend around the Assumption holiday on August 15, a time when many residents of Athens visit nearby islands such as Salamina, which is easily accessible from the capital’s main port of Piraeus. Several homes have been damaged, and five individuals have been transported to a medical facility, according to local accounts.
The firefighting efforts in both countries have been substantial, with numerous resources deployed to combat the blazes. In Belgium, the current wildfire has exceeded a 2011 fire that burned nearly 14 square kilometers in the same region, previously the largest wildfire on record in the country. The cause of the fires remains unknown, with challenging conditions hindering containment efforts.
Belgium has activated the European Union’s civil protection mechanism to receive support from other nations, including Sweden dispatching two water-bombing aircraft, along with helicopters from the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. The wildfires across Europe come after a period of exceptionally hot and dry weather, complicating firefighting efforts in various regions.